In 1990, the 30 year-old Panchayat regime was overthrown, a new Constitution written and a multiparty system re-established. Although these reforms did not properly address the exclusion of marginalised groups and ethnic centralisation continued, they did provide the space for such grievances to be mobilised and heard – resulting in the emergence of ‘identity politics’.
There are three main types of identity-based organisations in Nepal: the indigenous peoples organisations that represent a single ethnic group; the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN); and ethnic political parties. The NEFIN has received the greatest attention and recognition from the state and has been successful in getting a few of its demands satisfied.
The increasing prominence of identity politics and ethnic demands in recent years can be attirbuted to, among other things, the cumulative effect of years of work by ethnic activists since 1990, the Maoist insurgency, which began in 1996, and democratic reforms since 2006.
Most mainstream ethnic and dalit movements have been peaceful. There has, however, been a tendency in recent years for activists to urge the taking up of arms against the state if demands are unmet. In order to prevent further violence, much of the literature stresses that the centre acknowledge and respond to all identity movements and legalise ethnic parties. Moreover, it is important not to group disadvantaged groups together, but rather to understand in what particular ways groups are marginalised and excluded. An alternative approach to addressing identity politics, proposed in the literature, would see the abandonment of the elite’s traditional emphasis on purity and to emphasise instead the country’s ‘hybridity’ and history of mixture.
